President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will officially kick off the 2012 general election Saturday May 5 with rallies at Ohio State University in Columbus and Virginia Commonwealth University, Siegel Center in Richmond — states that represent both the old and new paths to Democratic victory.

He’ll speak about how far we’ve come, and lay out the very real stakes in this election: are we going to continue to move forward rebuilding an economy that’s meant to last with a growing middle class and more Americans getting a fair shot, or are we going to go back to the same failed policies that crashed our economy and left too many folks struggling to catch up? That’s the choice.

These kinds of events are one of the hallmarks of this organization. Millions of people first came to know and support candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and 2008 when they met him at rallies and town halls in their communities. We’re now entering the general election of his final campaign — this day should be something pretty special.

Thousands of supporters have already RSVP’d, but the campaign has reserved special tickets to make sure volunteers get the chance to be a little closer to the action.

Here’s how it works: just sign up to volunteer at a phone bank this week, and you’ll get a free ticket for our Volunteer Priority Access section at the rally.